Monitoring, Process Control, Simulation, and Optimization in Coal Mining

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Process Control and Monitoring".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 2447

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: mine safety; gas flow theory in coal; dynamic disasters in coal mines
State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Gas Geology and Gas Control, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China
Interests: coal mine disaster prevention and control; occupational health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Interests: coal mining safety; gas diffusion; ECBM; emergency management and science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coal plays an important role in the world economy and industrial development. Shallow coal resources have been gradually exhausted, and coal mining has entered the stage of deep mining. In this environment, the geological conditions are more complex, with high temperatures, high ground stress, high gas pressure and low permeability, which pose a threat to the safety of workers mining coal. Problems such as coal and gas outburst, rock burst pressure and gas dust explosion are more likely to occur in the deep mining stage. It is thus of great significance to study the underlying mechanisms of coal mine disasters and how to prevent them for the safe and efficient mining of coal resources.

This Special Issue solicits original research articles and review papers reflecting the advances in research concerning process safety in coal mining. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Mechanisms and preventions of dynamic disasters;
  • Prevention of coal mine gas and fire coupling disasters;
  • Gas extraction technology of low permeability coal seams;
  • Coal mine gas explosions;
  • Coal bed gas adsorption and desorption and diffusion.

Dr. Yangyang Guo
Dr. Bo Li
Dr. Wei Zhao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • mechanisms and preventions
  • coal seams
  • gas extraction technology
  • coal bed gas adsorption
  • coal mine gas explosions
  • process control

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 14008 KiB  
Article
The Pore Structure Multifractal Evolution of Vibration-Affected Tectonic Coal and the Gas Diffusion Response Characteristics
by Maoliang Shen, Zhonggang Huo, Longyong Shu, Qixian Li, Pengxin Zhang and Weihua Wang
Processes 2024, 12(8), 1701; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12081701 - 14 Aug 2024
Viewed by 365
Abstract
Vibrations caused by downhole operations often induce coal and gas outburst accidents in tectonic zone coal seams. To clarify how vibration affects the pore structure, gas desorption, and diffusion capacity of tectonic coal, isothermal adsorption-desorption experiments under different vibration frequencies were carried out. [...] Read more.
Vibrations caused by downhole operations often induce coal and gas outburst accidents in tectonic zone coal seams. To clarify how vibration affects the pore structure, gas desorption, and diffusion capacity of tectonic coal, isothermal adsorption-desorption experiments under different vibration frequencies were carried out. In this study, high-pressure mercury intrusion experiments and low-pressure liquid nitrogen adsorption experiments were conducted to determine the pore structures of tectonic coal before and after vibration. The pore distribution of vibration-affected tectonic coal, including local concentration, heterogeneity, and connectivity, was analyzed using multifractal theory. Further, a correlation analysis was performed between the desorption diffusion characteristic parameters and the pore fractal characteristic parameters to derive the intrinsic relationship between the pore fractal evolution characteristics and the desorption diffusion characteristics. The results showed that the vibration increased the pore volume of the tectonic coal, and the pore volume increased as the vibration frequency increased in the 50 Hz range. The pore structure of the vibration-affected tectonic coal showed multifractal characteristics, and the multifractal parameters affected the gas desorption and diffusion capacity by reflecting the density, uniformity, and connectivity of the pore distribution in the coal. The increases in the desorption amount (Q), initial desorption velocity (V0), initial diffusion coefficient (D0), and initial effective diffusion coefficient (De) of the tectonic coal due to vibration indicated that the gas desorption and diffusion capacity of the tectonic coal were improved at the initial desorption stage. Q, V0, D0, and De had significant positive correlations with pore volume and the Hurst index, and V0, D0, and De had negative correlations with the Hausdorff dimension. To a certain extent, vibration reduced the local density regarding the pore distribution in the coal. As a result, the pore size distribution was more uniform, and the pore connectivity was improved, thereby enhancing the gas desorption and diffusion capacity of the coal. Full article
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20 pages, 10455 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on the Effect of Unloading Paths on Coal Damage and Permeability Evolution
by Congmeng Hao, Youpai Wang and Guangyi Liu
Processes 2024, 12(8), 1661; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12081661 - 7 Aug 2024
Viewed by 699
Abstract
Coal seam cavitation is one of the most effective techniques for gas disaster control in low-permeability coal. Due to the difference in cavitation method and process, the damage degree and fracture development range of the coal body around the cavern are greatly different, [...] Read more.
Coal seam cavitation is one of the most effective techniques for gas disaster control in low-permeability coal. Due to the difference in cavitation method and process, the damage degree and fracture development range of the coal body around the cavern are greatly different, and the effect of increasing the permeability of the coal body is further changed. In order to further understand the permeability enhancement mechanism of cavitation technology on low-permeability coal and effectively guide engineering applications, this paper conducted experimental research on the unloading damage and permeability evolution characteristics of coal under different cavitation paths using a coal-rock “adsorption-percolation-mechanics” coupling test system. Through the analysis of coal strength and deformation characteristics, coal damage characteristics, and the evolution law of coal permeability combined with the macroscopic damage characteristics of coal, the strength degradation mechanism of unloaded coal and the mechanism of increased permeability and flow were revealed. The results show that unloading can significantly reduce the strength of coal, and the greater the unloading rate, the more obvious the reduction. The essence of this is that unloading reduces the cohesion and internal friction angle of coal—damage and breakage are the most effective ways to improve the permeability of the coal body. Unloading damaged coal bodies not only significantly improves the permeability of the coal body but also improves the diffusion ability of gas, and finally, shows a remarkable strengthening effect of gas extraction. Full article
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17 pages, 6075 KiB  
Article
Study on the Damage Mechanism of Coal under Hydraulic Load
by Hongyan Li, Yaolong Li, Weihua Wang, Yang Li, Zhongxue Sun, Shi He and Yongpeng Fan
Processes 2024, 12(5), 925; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12050925 - 1 May 2024
Viewed by 731
Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing is extensively utilized for the prevention and control of gas outbursts and rockbursts in the deep sections of coal mines. The determination of fracturing construction parameters based on the coal seam conditions and stress environments merits further investigation. This paper constructs [...] Read more.
Hydraulic fracturing is extensively utilized for the prevention and control of gas outbursts and rockbursts in the deep sections of coal mines. The determination of fracturing construction parameters based on the coal seam conditions and stress environments merits further investigation. This paper constructs a damage analysis model for coal under hydraulic loads, factoring in the influence of the intermediate principal stress, grounded in the octahedron strength theory analysis approach. It deduces the theoretical analytical equation for the damage distribution of a coal medium subjected to small-flow-rate hydraulic fracturing in underground coal mines. Laboratory experiments yielded the mechanical parameters of coal in the study area and facilitated the fitting of the intermediate principal stress coefficient. Leveraging these datasets, the study probes into the interaction between hydraulic loads and damage radius under assorted influence ranges, porosity, far-field crustal stresses, and brittle damage coefficients. The findings underscore that hydraulic load escalates exponentially with the damage radius. Within the variable range of geological conditions in the test area, the effects of varying influence range, porosity level, far-field stress, and brittle damage coefficient on the outcomes intensify one by one; a larger hydraulic load diminishes the impact of far-field stress variations on the damage radius, inversely to the influence range, porosity, and brittle damage. The damage radius derived through the gas pressure reduction method in field applications corroborates the theoretical calculations, affirming the precision of the theoretical model. These findings render pivotal guidance for the design and efficacy assessment of small-scale hydraulic fracturing in underground coal mines. Full article
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